Tag Archives: Overlanding

No. Hell no. Don’t want to play the “what’s that noise” game at 5,000 feet

Tell us a little about your background, your career, and where you live.

Born in New York City, Staten Island to be exact, aka the cousin Oliver of the boroughs. Grew up in Jersey. Went to college in New Hampshire fell in love with New England and never left. I practice real estate in Boston, but live about a 100 miles out of town in rural New Hampshire in a town with no post office and more dogs than people.

What’s your team name?

Team Blockheads. When you see my yellow labs it makes total sense

How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?

A 73 Series 3 88, 96 Disco, 93 RRC, 95 RRC and currently a 60 109, 67? Lightweight and a 98 D1. By far the lightweight. Actually has a little speed, for a Rover

What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?

They give you a sense of humor and patience and if they don’t, nothing will

What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?

I’ve heard good things about something called “heat” inside vehicles. Hoping Land Rover decides to look into that one day.

Been on an adventure? – tell us about it

Are we talking a breakdown adventure? Because I don’t know how much room I have.

If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?

A lhd 130 would be nice but a vehicle from Rover chock full of lightweight parts would be nicer. You know how tough it is to source lightweight parts in the States??

If you were on safari which three (living, dead, or fictional) people would you pick to bring along?

George Adamson

Denys Finch Hatton

Taylor Swift. I mean have you seen that video with her and the Rovers?

Eating a plain can of tuna for dinner tonight (don’t ask, #dietssuck) I came across this article on Road and Track. Crazily, the article was originally found on the Car and Driver website. Wow is that the work of a serious slacker. “Hey, let’s post content from the competitors website”. Anyway, as I read the post, the vehicle seemed familiar. After scrolling through a few pictures – lo and behold – it’s a Muddy Chef car! Great photos too. Here’s the article and a link to the e-bay listing.

Buy This Vintage Land Rover From When 4x4s Actually Went Off-Road
No nav, no heated seats. This stalwart comes from the days when a 4×4 was a working machine.BY NICHOLAS WALLACE / CAR AND DRIVER (ORIGINAL LINK HERE)

Land Rovers have an undeniable charm. In America, we often think of them as little more than status symbols, cars practical only for those who can afford the high running costs. Elsewhere, however, the Land Rover name is synonymous with off-road capability and durability. No model exemplifies that better than the Land Rover Series II.

The Land Rover’s birth, much like that of the Willys Jeep, came right after the end of World War II. At the time, Rover’s car sales were struggling, so the British company explored the option of building a roadgoing truck that had the off-road capabilities of a tractor. The resulting vehicle was the Land Rover Series I. Initially, the truck was supposed to have a short production cycle, one just long enough to provide working capital for Rover’s other projects. Sales boomed, however, and the Land Rover brand was born.

In the late ’50s, the model saw several improvements, such as short- and long-wheelbase variants, revised exterior styling, and a new 2.25-liter gasoline engine that produced 72 horsepower. These models were called the Series II and Series IIa.​

This particular example, which is currently for sale on eBay, is a short-wheelbase 1966 Series IIa. The owner doesn’t state its mileage but does claim that it’s nearly rust-free and has been daily driven for the past six months (!). That’s the kind of commitment we love to see. And while a Series II Land Rover can go a lot farther afield, you could also take it to Whole Foods if you wanted.​​

Proust/Solihull Questionnaire

This week we interview Muddy Chef competitor and category winner Rick Liwush. Rick and his Son Andy are world class fabricators and builders of one of the most fearsome Series II trucks on the planet (and he’s a super nice guy too!).

1. If Land Rover made an aircraft would you fly in it? Why/Why Not?

Probably not. Unless they teamed up with those who made the Concord. That would be a flight to remember. Just think the first land rover into outer orbit.

2. Tell us a little about your background, your career and where you live.

Even though that it’s fairly new, the Love to Overland bug has bitten me. The ability to drive in the outback and sleep under the stars and get up, break camp and do again the next day is just over the top, it should be on every ones bucket list. Have two grown children, Andy and Victoria. Restoring and building modified vehicles and spending countless hours cooking with both my children is a fathers’ dream. Was born and raised in Rochester New York, presently living in Williamson NY. Spent the last 35 years working in Contract Manufacturing for KAL Manufacturing.

3. How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?

7 Land Rovers to date. Our favorite is the 1964 Big Tire series IIA or the LR3. Depends on the function and the mood.

4. What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?

The attention it brings, love the thumbs up from other drivers. It is a great way to break the ice at any event. The social aspects outweigh any negative possibilities. Being a Land Rover Owner puts you in a very special class, I have never met any LR owner who doesn’t follow the same rules when you’re behind the wheel, “No Land Rover ever left behind” Each person we have encountered have brought so many great experiences to the table, everyone is so helpful and kind. All are willing to lend a hand or whatever they have to help if you are sidelined. We have done many other events with many different clubs etc… but none are of the class of those who have the ownership of a Land Rover.

5. What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?

People keep calling it a Jeep.

Maybe the leaks when it rains.

6. Been on an adventure? – tell us about it

Just got back from SCARR in Texas, what a great show. The people were so friendly and over 100 land rovers in attendance. Fantastic trails, unbelievable views and trails for all types. Interesting weather. Out of this world event dinner on Saturday. This club puts on one great event. If you haven’t done it is worth the time off from work. When we were invited to SCARR I was told that that if you could only go to one event this year, this would be the one we should go to. The challenges of the terrain is so different than what we entertain ourselves out here in the east. The Red dirt, gets everywhere were still washing it out of our LR. The networking of new friends was over the top. We even bumped into one of our sponsors’ of Muddy Chef.

Carnage, of course there was, we saw all different kinds, but without carnage where is the challenge. But there was one instance where you just have to hand out the award of “what were you thinking?”, Driver of a Landy minus brakes = totaling your front end, Driver came to event knowingly that his brakes were not in great shape but still proceeded to go wheeling anyways. After crushing his left front due to lack of braking on a downward slope, all the driver wanted to do was blame everyone else, “Here’s your sign”.

7. How do you plan to beat the competition this year at the Muddy Chef Challenge?

If everything is done proper, like having individual tents for each category with no more than 3 judges per tent, so that to eliminate long lines and food getting cold this event should be one of the best ever. You can’t always make everyone happy but each year you learn for the year before, and the biggest squawk was the long time to present to the judges Eric if you really want to make this an all-star event than we need to step it up and separate the judges into their respectable classes.

Which in turns creates less stress on all involved both participants and judges.

Make time for those who plan on doing both the standard competition and for those who are also competing in the iron / chopped/ top chef event.

So to answer the question fairly, if the above is accomplished then we as participants can let the food do the talking. We been preparing for this since the last event, our thinking and testing of recipes are from simple to way outside the box thoughts. It really isn’t about winning it’s about sharing the experience and bring them home with you. Pass the donuts please… ohhhh they were so good…..

So get ready judges, sit back, take a big bite, close your eyes and let us entertain your culinary pallets.

8. If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?

A vehicle similar to the defender 110 but with some larger tire options and make interior roll bars standard, for the Queens sake we all know that most of these are used for work or Fun. We are not purchasing them to sit in the driveway. We are men of means and with that said make one that we all can afford here and on the other side of the pond. Just use the data that Ford motor company did in the sixties, build a fun, smart looking and affordable vehicle, make your target the middle class and build hundreds of thousands of them and watch your sales and profits rise.